


Peculiarity

by C107



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Apathy, Emotions, F/M, Kamukura Izuru Has Feelings, Piano, Rare Pairings, Ultimate Talent Development Plan (Dangan Ronpa), how do you write kamukura h e l p, kinda??, romantic feelings implied?, that's the best you're gonna get with Kamukura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 08:23:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19764304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C107/pseuds/C107
Summary: He isn't quite sure why he continues to visit the music room.





	Peculiarity

“Kaede Akamatsu.”

At the sound of his voice, the pianist's shoulders tensed, and _Sonatine No. 3_ came to a halt, leaving the music room devoid of any melody. She looked over her shoulder, where he stood staring at her with his slightly too intense yet completely uncaring eyes, before turning on the piano's bench to face him.

“D-Don't sneak up on people like that!”

“I can't help the fact that others aren't more aware of their surroundings. I've been here since you played the second half of _Sonatine No. 1_ ,” he blinked, expression unchanged.

“That long, huh?” Kaede sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Sorry. Sometimes I just get so sucked into what I'm playing that I ignore the world around me…”

“As expected from the Ultimate Pianist.”

“‘As expected from Piano Freak’ is more like it.” She smiled, turning back around and scooting to the bench's left side to pat the spot at her right. “And anyway, I'm glad you decided to visit me again, Izuru. It's a welcomed change, since…” she paused to glance to the side, “not a lot of quiet people come around here.”

The Ultimate Everything took the time to flip a lock of hair over his shoulder before taking a seat. 

“You've acknowledged a flaw in my boring Ultimate Pianist talent. I must eradicate this flaw at any cost.”

“Y-You sound like a robot when you put it like that…” Kaede's eyes did a sweep of the piano's keys, and Izuru kept his eyes trained on her. “Well, like I said last time, I have a lot to teach you, and this'll be the perfect way to do it.” She met his lack of expression with an excited grin, hands clasped at her chest.

“Ah.”

She paid him no mind, leaning back from where she'd invaded his personal space just a smidge.

“So, we've established that you can play piano really well, Izuru. I mean, you _are_ an ultimate pianist, after all. But…part of being a musician, or an artist or creator in general, is having some sort of messages or feelings you want to convey to your audience. While your abilities on the piano are amazing, that's... just it. Ugh, it's…” she gripped her hair, “it's hard being hard on people.”

Letting out a breath, Kaede positioned her fingers over the piano.

“Just listen to me. If I get you to smile, that would be nice, too.”

 _“Raindrop” Prelude Op. 28_ filled the room, and Izuru listened with mildly interested ears, keeping his eyes on the girl at his side and sparing an occasional glance at her practiced, rapid hands. She was calm, a fact that was only natural given that she was in her element. Her eyes of lavender were closed, with her posture being relaxed yet flawless. 

She was truly the epitome of an Ultimate Pianist.

“What did you think of that, Izuru?”

The song came to an end much too early for him, and his shoulders twitched in something that could almost be considered a shrug at the other pianist's question. Indifference.

“Your talent would be clear to anyone, Kaede Akamatsu.”

He got up to turn and take his leave.

“Ah, I still haven't taught you anything yet, so could you come back again some time?”

Izuru paused at the music room's door.

“Okay.”

The next day, he arrived in the music room several minutes before her. He simply sat at the piano, letting the time pass without doing any actual warm-up or practice. He wouldn't say he had been eager to see the other pianist; that'd be an incredible exaggeration. However, being with her was less boring than _not_ being with her.

Soon enough, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of soft footsteps. He didn't bother turning around.

“Kaede Akamatsu.”

A sigh. 

“I was hoping to sneak up on you for once…” The girl spoke, walking normally now to come stand at his side. Her arms were crossed, her cheeks being puffed out in a pout. 

“I am skilled in all areas that require excessive use of the five senses. You would not surprise me even if you tried your hardest.”

“I know, I know.” The blonde huffed, waving him off and taking a seat next to him. He felt her hip brush against his for a short second.

“So, have you made any progress without me?”

“I've had no interest in trying.”

Kaede's eyes widened, and she flinched before relaxing slightly.

“Ah, sorry.” He didn't see any particular reason for her to be apologizing. “It's just weird meeting a pianist who doesn't care about piano all that much. Or anyone who doesn't care about their talent, really.” She paused for a moment, eyes scanning the notes on her skirt. “But you must want to improve, right? That's why you keep coming here.”

That was false.

“Izuru,” she began slowly, “have you ever felt strongly about anything? A cause, an idea, a principle?”

“Not really.”

“I see, I see.” She nodded, arms folded across her chest. “Maybe an emotion?”

“I have yet to experience anything but boredom.”

“E-Eh?!”

A moment passed, the blonde deep in thought. Her eyebrows had furrowed, and her fingers tapped against a thigh. She said nothing, her brain taking minutes to come up with ideas his could have in seconds.

Izuru remained patient.

“Hey, Izuru, you just said you're skilled in all areas that use the five senses a lot.”

“Yes.”

“So how many talents do you _have_?”

“All of them.” 

“Thought so.” The girl frowned, looking up to peer into his eyes. “You're pretty amazing, but…you could do so much more than what you're doing right now. If you have all of this talent, regardless of whether you think the outcome will be predictable or not, you should put it to good use. Someone like you could do whatever they wanted, Izuru. The only way to make things interesting for yourself would be to break from the norm, so if you have all of this talent, but you see no point in doing anything with it...then you're allowing life to be boring.”

A moment passed. The Ultimate Hope said nothing. A bead of sweat appeared on the pianist's face, and she averted her gaze.

“D-Did that not make sense? Ah, sorry. Let's just start the lesson for now. I'm...glad you're here again.”

She turned, positioning her hands over the piano keys, and Izuru spoke up.

“Does my presence mean that much to you?”

“Well, I wanna teach you as much as I can, and… I haven't given up on trying to make you smile at least once. I'll start playing, and you just play the same song after me.”

He saw no point to that, but he didn't object.

Neither of them spoke after that. Instead, he listened as Kaede began her play of _Gymnopédie No. 1_.

A month into his lessons with the girl, and it was clear Izuru wasn't making any progress. He wasn't sure what was keeping him from considering the practice boring and repetitive, or why he continued coming to the music room every day.

“Even if you've never felt any emotions, you're aware of how they work, right?”

He nodded in response to the blonde's question. 

“Um…” Kaede folded her arms across her chest, before pointing an index finger upward. “Do you think it would help if I told you what some of the things associated with them are?”

“Do as you like.”

“Izuru…” she groaned, and he looked up from where he had been staring at the piano keys to meet her eyes. 

“...Fine.” 

The girl smiled. “I, uh, thought about this a lot last night. So it'd mean a lot to me if you could hear me out.”

“I have already agreed to listen to you ramble.”

“Great! Okay, so...certain sounds or objects can evoke emotion. Usually things that are special or precious to you, or things that remind you of something precious to you. For example, when someone loses something or someone that they hold dear, they start to miss having that thing or person around, and this often makes them sad when thinking of it or them. That goes for things that remind the person of the person or object, too. Like, when they meet someone who has certain traits of a person they once held dear, they'll probably start comparing the two.

“Next, sounds. I've...tried this method on you, but it doesn't seem to be working. I'll keep trying, though!” Kaede grinned, pumping her fists in the air.

“Why would you trouble yourself with something so pointless?” Izuru tilted his head. He personally didn't understand what her purpose was in attempting to make him feel, or why conveying emotion to an audience would be important. 

He thought back to his first meeting with the girl, and how she had been dissatisfied with his performance.

“I want to help you, Izuru. You said you wanted to perfect your Ultimate Pianist talent, didn't you? I'm not a perfect pianist, I think, so it'll be up to you to find your own style, but if you could put emotion into the songs you play, then…” She seemed to search for the words to say next, “I think a lot of people would enjoy your music more. I like putting smiles on people's faces. That's my motivation. You'd just have to find some of your own. If we can find something you feel strongly about, everything that comes afterwards will be easier.”

The boy stared at her. 

“Do as you like.”

“I knew you'd say that. You're pretty predictable, you know.”

His eyes widened a tad. Not that Kaede noticed.

“Mmm… Right, sounds! So, basically, when certain notes are strung together, the final result will usually fill the audience with some sort of emotion, but only if you pour your heart into your music. There are other sounds, too, obviously. Like, when people hear the voice of someone they enjoy the company of, they’re filled with happiness. Get it?”

“Everything you’ve told me, I already know.”

The girl crossed her arms at his statement. “You may know it, but do you _understand_ it, Izuru?”

“I possess extensive knowledge of how the brain constructs emotion.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.” Kaede sighed, and other ultimate pianist stood from his seat, making his way to the music room’s exit. Leaving, he said nothing, and the girl didn’t bother stopping him.

The next day, Izuru showed up later than he usually did. Kaede’s fingers ceased immediately, _Clair de Lune_ coming to a halt. It was obvious to him that the girl hadn’t been as focused on piano as she had pretended to be. Her hands shook, and her hair was ragged ‒ most likely from her habit of running a hand though it ‒ with even her odd cowlick standing more on end than usual.

“You came…”

“Indeed.”

He used a delicate index finger to tilt her chin upward, forcing her to meet his eyes. Pools of crimson gazed into seas of lavender.

“I’m s—” “Don’t apologize when you’ve done nothing wrong,” he cut her off, retracting his fingers. “Now, continue playing. I will listen, and the lesson will progress normally.”

With a nod, Kaede picked up from where she had left off. However, near the middle of the song she made a slip-up that the both of them noticed immediately. One wrong note, and the experience was ruined, the harsh sound echoing through the room and the song’s spell being broken.

“You are distracted.”

“Don’t worry about it; it’s nothing. Even I make mistakes like that sometimes. I can just retry, y’know?”

She smiled, repositioning her hands over the piano, and he stopped her by grabbing her wrists, holding them in the air.

“You look horrible.”

She flinched, trying and failing to free her arms from his iron grip.

“H-Hey, you can’t just _say_ things like that to girls, Izuru. Or anyone, really. They’ll think you’re being rude.”

“Don’t be boring. It’s beneath you. Rid yourself of these emotions in order to finish your performance.”

She glanced away from him, eyes fixed on the notes of her skirt. A moment of silence passed, him patiently waiting for her to speak.

“Hey. We’re, um, friends, aren’t we? It’s okay if you don’t think so, but you’ve been on my mind a lot lately, is all, and…the thought just crossed my mind. I know I haven’t been the best teacher, so are you really coming here...just to learn piano?”

There was a slight hitch in the Ultimate Hope’s breath, and he used his grip on Kaede’s wrists to pull the girl closer to him. She stared up at him with widened eyes until he let one of her arms go in order to press the side of her head to his chest. 

“Kaede Akamatsu, what are you doing to me?”

It was faint, but with ears like hers, he knew it wouldn’t be difficult for her to notice it.

The acceleration in his heartbeat.

“Izuru…?”

“It should be clear now.”

He released the blonde’s head, letting her pull back. He used a hand to attempt smoothing out her hair, staring down at her with half-lidded eyes.

“I don’t expect to lose interest in you anytime soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this was a bit unpolished, but I hope you guys liked it!
> 
> So I...really like the idea of these two being friends and whatnot? Their scene (scenes, actually, if you squint a bit) in the TDP was cute, and I thought it was really nice how Izuru said he would consider coming to talk to Kaede again. I don't know why I'm a fan of so many rare Kaede pairings. First Kokichi, and now Izuru. Nagito's next. Wait, I'm kidding, put those guns down--


End file.
